Meeting Planner Careers

If you are planning a winter meeting or corporate event for clients located in colder climates, opting for a sunny destination will likely increase attendance and enhance attendee satisfaction. Attendees will appreciate the chance to get away from the rain or snow for a short time, and are sure to get excited about visiting a warm, inviting destination that is far from the dreary conditions in their hometown.

Here are four hot destinations that are sure to appeal to meeting attendees and corporate clients who live in areas that experience inclement winter weather:
 

1. San Diego, California – San Diego is well known for its year-round sunshine and warm weather. With plenty of enticing attractions, historical and cultural sites and numerous meeting venues, San Diego is always at the top of the list for meetings any time of the year.
2. Orlando, Florida – Orlando is another southern city that offers sunshine throughout the year, as well as a wide variety of entertainment opportunities that are sure to appeal to meeting attendees.
3. Atlanta, Georgia – Gorgeous winter weather, the world’s largest aquarium and a vast array of resort hotels and meeting venues make Atlanta an easy choice.
4. Los Angeles, California – Los Angeles is always a solid choice as a destination and offers unique attractions, as well as year-round sunshine.
5. Caribbean Cruise - Cruise events and meetings at sea are a great way to motivate employees, and save money too.  An all inclusive Caribbean incentive cruise can save as much as 40 percent over land based venues.  In addition, the ROI on cruise events is among the highest. 

Joining local business organizations and attending networking meetings or socials are essential tasks for meeting planners trying to break into the business or expand their current client base. Networking functions are an excellent way to meet potential clients, connect with local vendors, find new staff members as your business grows and get your name out there as a meeting or event planner who is accepting new clients. Networking socials and meetings are also a great way for shy or reserved folks to practice speaking about their business to strangers and to work on their people skills, which are particularly important to meeting planners.

Of course, it is not enough to simply attend networking functions and introduce yourself around. Following up with the folks you meet is just as important as making that initial contact. While you may have handed out your business cards and spoke about your meeting or event planning services, you must keep in mind that each attendee met plenty of other people as well; therefore, you must take extra steps to ensure that they remember you and that you will be in the back of their minds when they are need of planning services or when one of their friends or colleagues asks if they happen to know a good event planner.